Ávila hosts from today, Thursday, April 30, the Ecclesial Assembly of the Church in Castile, an event that will take place until May 2 and brings together nearly 300 delegates from nine dioceses. According to the Diocese of Ávila, it is the first assembly of this type in Spain within the framework of the current synodal process.
The call culminates a several-year itinerary in which the dioceses have analyzed their situation, carried out a discernment process, and now seek to specify pastoral orientations for the coming years. The conclusions adopted will be presented as proposals for their application in each diocese.
A meeting focused on the mission
The assembly’s motto, “Renewed for the Mission”, places the focus on evangelization in a context that the organizers describe as marked by secularization and social changes.
During the press conference prior to the meeting, the Bishop of Ávila, Mons. Jesús Rico García, pointed out that faith no longer has the social support of other times, which poses new challenges for the transmission of the Gospel.
First synodal experience of this type in Spain
The Assembly is presented as the first of these characteristics in the country within the current synodal framework, which has motivated the presence of observers from the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
Delegations from Valladolid, Burgos, Salamanca, Ávila, Segovia, Ciudad Rodrigo, Zamora, Osma-Soria, and Palencia participate, in a structure that groups dioceses with a strong rural presence and thousands of parishes scattered across the territory.
Majority of laypeople among the participants
One of the features of the meeting is the composition of its delegates. Two-thirds are laypeople, who will intervene alongside priests and consecrated persons in a process that includes deliberation and voting on proposals.
The conclusions adopted will be presented as pastoral orientations—called “pointers for the journey”—for their possible application in the different dioceses, and even as a reference for other local Churches in Spain.
Three axes of work
The works will focus on three main axes: pastoral conversion, the renewal of the evangelizing style, and the review of ecclesial structures. This last point acquires special relevance in a context marked by depopulation, the scarcity of vocations, and the difficulty in sustaining the parish network in many areas.
The reflection also includes adaptation to the digital environment and the reorganization of pastoral action, aspects that the organizers consider necessary to respond to the current situation.
A method based on “conversation in the Spirit”
The assembly will develop through the method called “conversation in the Spirit”, inspired by the Synod, which seeks to favor listening and discernment in small groups before sharing in plenary sessions.
The meeting will begin with a prayer vigil in the church of San Pedro Apóstol and will conclude on Saturday, May 2, with a Mass in the Cathedral of Ávila.